The Puppet Master
by Danja
Summary: Tony Jr.'s high school football coach is an aspiring hypnotist ... with disastrous results. FINAL CHAPTER UP! R&R.
1. Chapter 1

**The Puppet Master**

 **Chapter One**

A/N: BION, this is partially based on a true story.

* * *

"Sleep, now," Coach Thomas Randall purred to the slumped-over Cocoa High School football player – quarterback Mike Jeffries – who was sitting in the chair that was in the coach's office. "Sleep … _Now ..._ "

The player's chin touched his chest as he sat in the chair, deeply asleep, deeply entranced.

Deeply hypnotized.

"That's right … _that's right,_ " Coach continued soothingly. "All that matters to you now … is the sound of my voice."

* * *

"Your mind ... and your body … are now deeply asleep," the Coach cooed to another Cocoa High School football player – fullback Tim Mathis – who was seated in the same chair in the coach's office as Mike Jeffries had been previously.

Tim sat slumped over in the chair, his head between his knees, his arms dangling by his side. He was sixteen, slender and athletic, and had a mop of short blonde hair.

"Sleep, now … Sleep, now," Coach Randall purred. He was bald, paunchy, and in his mid-fifties. He wore blue sweat pants, a white polo shirt with the school logo embroidered on it, and a whistle around his neck. "Sleep … _now._ "


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

Geoffrey Babcock – middle linebacker on the Cocoa High School football team – was riding his motorcycle down the street.

All at once, Coach Randall's voice began echoing in his mind – _Sleep, Now … Sleep, Now. Sleep … Now._

The entranced Geoffrey's jaw slackened. His vision became blurry. He over-steered, lost control of his motorcycle, skidded down the street, and hit a light pole.

* * *

"I'm home!" cried out Anthony Nelson Jr., cornerback on the Cocoa High School football team. He was sixteen, tall, athletic, and had curly brown hair (the spitting image of his father, Major Anthony Nelson).

Hearing no reply, he closed and locked the door, took three steps into the living room, and collapsed onto the floor in a dead faint.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

"Anthony … Anthony ..." Jeannie called out to the unconscious Tony Jr. as she gently patted his face, attempting to rouse him.

Tony Jr. lay unconscious on his bed, Jeannie sitting on the bed next to him. She was wearing a T-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers.

"Anthony, can you hear me?" Jeannie gently stroked Tony Jr.'s forehead.

"Who's there?" Tony Jr. gurgled, his voice barely above a whisper.

"It is but I, your mother," Jeannie replied calmly.

"Where am I?" Tony Jr. asked, disoriented. Tears were now streaming from his eyes. "How did I get here?"

"I came home from the grocery store. I saw you passed out in the living room," Jeannie explained.

"What time is it?" Tony Jr. asked.

Jeannie checked her watch. "Quarter to Six," she replied. "What time did you get home from school?"

"`Bout Four," Tony Jr. mumbled.

"You have been unconscious for almost two hours," said Jeannie.

"Where am I?"

"You are in your room, lying on your bed," Jeannie replied. "I brought you here." She then asked, "What happened? Did something happen at practice today?"

"Can't talk about it," said Tony Jr. weakly.

"Why not?"

"Not allowed to."

"Have you been sworn to secrecy?" Jeannie asked.

"Yes."

"By who?"

"I don't remember," Tony Jr. moaned.

Jeannie was becoming concerned. _Something is wrong,_ she thought as she stroked Tony Jr.'s forehead. _This is not like him. He does not normally keep secrets from me._

"Sleep, now," said Jeannie innocently. "Rest ..."

" _PLEASE, DON'T TELL ME TO SLEEP! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!"_ Tony Jr. screamed.

"Shhh … just relax," said Jeannie softly as she stroked his forehead. "It is still early. You do not have to sleep right now if you do not wish to."

 _He lashed out when I mentioned the word "sleep" to him,_ Jeannie wondered. _Why?_

Jeannie made a decision. _I want answers._

Jeannie touched Tony Jr.'s chin and blinked. Tony Jr. closed his eyes and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

 _Sleep, my son,_ Jeannie thought. _Rest._

Jeannie blinked once more. A glowing orb that was about the size of a basketball appeared just above the now-sleeping Tony Jr.'s chest.

Jeannie gazed into the hovering glowing orb. What she saw sickened her. An image of Coach Randall and the Cocoa High School football team appeared in the orb. Coach and team were gathered together in the team locker room.

The team sat on benches, deeply hypnotized.

"Sleep now," the Coach intoned from the orb. "Sleep now." He then added, "When you wake up, all memory of your presence here will have vanished. You will not tell anyone about our sessions here ..."

Jeannie blinked. The glowing orb vanished. She clenched her fist in fury.

 _Does that oaf have_ ANY _idea what he is doing?_ Jeannie thought angrily, her jaw now clenched as tightly as her fist. _Any idea at ALL?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Tim Mathis sat in his room, doing his homework. He could overhear his mother in the other room arguing with his father over the phone (the couple were in the midst of a nasty divorce).

* * *

" _Sleep, now," Coach Randall would tell Tim during those private sessions in Coach's office. "Sleep … Now."_

* * *

Part of Tim wanted to be just like Coach Randall. _I wish I could make Mom and Dad get back together,_ he thought as his mother was on the phone in the other room, calling his father every nasty name she knew. _I know Coach Randall could make them do it._

 _Funny … Coach has never asked me about the divorce ..._

* * *

" _All your cares … your concerns … your worries … are now fading away. Fading … Away," said Coach Randall._

" _You can come back to this pleasant state of mind whenever you want" Coach Randall intoned. "Just by saying the words 'Relax, Relax, Relax' …"_

* * *

"Relax … Relax … Relax," Tim chanted softly to himself.

Those three magic words. Those three magic words that were supposed to make everything better.

Tim's mother was still on the phone in the other room, screaming at his father. Now deeply entranced, Tim got up and walked across the hall to his parents' bedroom.

He walked into his parents' bedroom (technically, it was now just his mother's bedroom, given that his parents had separated six months ago), opened a dresser drawer, and pulled out a .38 revolver (the one that his mother kept around for self-defense).

He checked the magazine (fully loaded … Check), pulled back the hammer, put his finger on the trigger, pointed the gun towards the side of his head, and …

* * *

"I am not angry at _YOU_ ," said Jeannie. She and Tony Jr. were sitting across from one another at the dining room table.

"You're not?" Tony Jr. asked.

Jeannie shook her head. _No._ "If I am angry at anyone, I am angry at Coach Randall," she said. "One ... for putting you through this in the first place and Two ... for ordering you to keep it a secret from your father and me."

"Do you know anything about hypnosis?" Tony Jr. asked.

Jeannie let out a breath. "I was magician to the court of Sultan Qadir al-Mamluk," she said. "I often used it to interrogate prisoners.

"That said, I was dealing with grown men ... soldiers." Jeannie then added, "It is not something ... that I am proud of."

Changing the subject, Jeannie said, "I need you to tell me everything you know ... about what is going on in that program."

Tony Jr. thought for a moment. "Our quarterback, Mike Jeffries, has been having rotator cuff problems all season ..." he said.

Jeannie looked quizzically at Tony Jr. "What is a 'rotator cuff'?" she asked. "I am not familiar with the term."

Tony Jr. clapped his hand on his shoulder and said, "This is your rotator cuff."

"I presume that is Mike's throwing arm?" Jeannie asked.

Tony Jr. nodded. _Yes._

"Has he been to see a doctor?" Jeannie asked.

"Coach won't allow it!" Tony Jr. exclaimed. "He's threatened to kick him off the team permanently if he goes."

"If he _WERE_ to see a doctor, what would happen?"

"In all likelihood, he would be declared medically ineligible due to his rotator cuff problems," Tony Jr. explained. "He would be put on the injured list ..."

"... and prohibited from playing," Jeannie concluded.

"Exactly."

"Are there no backup quarterbacks?" Jeannie asked.

"We have backups, but Coach won't let them play," said Tony Jr. "He says they're too inexperienced."

Jeannie looked quizzically at Tony Jr. "How are they to gain experience if the coach will not let them ... _play?_ " she asked.

"Coach sees Mike as his good luck charm," Tony Jr. explained. "He sees him as his ticket to a championship."

"Even with rotator cuff problems?"

Tony Jr. shook his head in disbelief. "Coach figures that if he gets him through the season, he'll be able to take care of it during the off-season," he said.

"Where does hypnosis fit into all of this?" Jeannie asked.

"It kills the pain," Tony Jr. replied. "Coach puts him under, the pain is gone ..."

"... And Mike can go back to playing football," said Jeannie, finishing Tony Jr.'s sentence.

"Yes."

 _The more I hear, the less this makes sense,_ Jeannie thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

* * *

"Sleep, Now," Coach Randall boomed. "Sleep … Now." The entire Cocoa High School football team was assembled in the locker room, sitting on benches, deeply entranced.

For Coach Thomas Randall, hypnotizing kids came about as easily to him as telling them to hit the showers.

* * *

A 6-inch, unnoticed Jeannie lay facedown on top of a bank of lockers, recording Coach Randall's hypnosis session with a small video camera.

Today, she was clad completely in black: black balaclava mask, black gloves, black sweater, black pants, and black boots.

Jeannie ached to take her son, Anthony, away from this lunatic. It pained her to see her son slumped over on a bench with the rest of the team, deeply hypnotized.

 _If Coach suspects that something is amiss,_ Jeannie thought, _he will go to ground._

 _If that happened, he would be almost unstoppable._

* * *

"You … are warriors," Coach droned on. "The football field … is your battlefield. The enemy … is the other team."

 _What they_ ARE, _dear Coach,_ Jeannie thought archly, a _re_ KIDS. _Teenagers._

 _I have known actual warriors. Soldiers. People who make careers out of killing other people._

* * *

"I'm counting on each and every one of you to be an animal out there on the field," said the Coach as he strained to be inspirational. "I need all of you to have a tiger in your tank."

* * *

 _No wonder he feels the need to hypnotize the kids,_ Jeannie thought acidly. _The man is a bloviating idiot._

* * *

"You … are warriors," Coach repeated. "The football field … is your battlefield. The enemy … is the other team."

* * *

Jeannie did some quick calculations: _Eight weeks of practice in the summer, three practices a week, one session of hypnosis after every practice … that is twenty-four sessions right there._

 _Then, there is the regular season ... twelve games, one game per week, three practices a week, one session of hypnosis after every practice. Thirty-six sessions during the regular season._

 _All total … sixty hypnosis sessions every season._

 _Great Hadji, no wonder Anthony did not want me to mention the word "sleep" to him._ _How many suggestions has this man_ GIVEN _to these kids?_

 _They are being brainwashed!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

* * *

On this day, Cocoa High School was celebrating Principal Gary Hopkins's Tenth Anniversary as Principal of the school.

The celebration was being held at the school's football stadium. The school's marching band was there. All of the deans, the faculty, the football and basketball teams were there. The Superintendent of Schools and the School Board Chairman were there. A great many students (present and former), alumni, and families were sitting in the stands.

The stage was decorated with gold and navy blue balloons and bunting (Cocoa High School's official colors). Coach Randall sat on the stage along with the other people who were going to be speaking that day.

* * *

Tony Jr. was there as well, right alongside the rest of the football team.

 _Where's Mom?_ he wondered as he scanned the stands for Jeannie (who had promised him that she would be there).

* * *

"I would like to thank everyone for coming out to our celebration today, in honor of our Principal's ten years of service to Cocoa High School," said Vice Principal Barry Newkirk. He then introduced himself by saying, "I'm Barry Newkirk. I'm the Vice Principal here at Cocoa High School. I'll be your host and emcee for today's festivities."

* * *

Unnoticed by the other people sitting on the stage with him, Coach Randall's head slumped onto his chest as Jeannie's magic began to overpower whatever will he had possessed at that moment.

 _Sleep, Now,_ Jeannie cooed telepathically to Coach Randall, who was now thoroughly under her spell. _Sleep, Now ... Rest._

* * *

The marching band played. Once the band had finished, speaker after speaker (everyone from the Vice Principal to the custodian to the librarian) paid tribute to Principal Hopkins, congratulated him on his tenth anniversary at the school, praised his exemplary leadership, and told him that he had been an inspiration to them (even though some of them had only actually _KNOWN_ him for the better part of a few months).

* * *

The entranced Coach Randall got up from his seat, staggered over to the microphone stand at the center of the stage, and took the microphone away from Principal Hopkins.

* * *

 _What's he doing?_ Tony Jr. wondered as he watched Coach Randall stagger out onto the stage.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Principal Hopkins hissed at the dazed-and-deeply-entranced Coach Randall. "You're not supposed to be on until later in the program!"

"I want everyone here who has played football under me to stand up … Right now," said Coach Randall into the microphone.

"What is the meaning of _THIS?_ " Principal Hopkins barked. "This is NOT in the program!"

"Humor me," Coach Randall slurred to Principal Hopkins.

Hopkins smelled Randall's breath. _No alcohol,_ he thought as Coach Randall gestured for all of his current and former players to stand up.

 _I hope to God this is a surprise for_ ME _,_ Principal Hopkins thought.

* * *

 _Anthony, sit down,_ Jeannie commanded telepathically in Tony Jr.'s mind as he started to stand up with the rest of the team.

Anthony sat down and asked, "Where are you? What's going on?"

 _You will see,_ Jeannie replied telepathically.

* * *

"Everybody ready?" Coach Randall asked. He then commanded, " _SLEEP NOW! SLEEP NOW! SLEEP NOW!_ "

 _En masse_ , members of the Cocoa High School football team (as well former players who were in the stands) fainted and collapsed to the ground, deeply hypnotized.

* * *

Anthony pitched over in his seat, his head resting on his knees, his arms dangling by his side as hypnotic slumber began to overtake him.

 _ANTHONY!_ Jeannie cried telepathically, vowing to never again allow him to fall under Coach Randall's sway.

Tony Jr. awoke with a jerk, yet remained pitched over in his seat.

 _I have to at least_ PRETEND _I'm hypnotized_ , Anthony thought, hoping and praying that Jeannie was reading his mind. _Otherwise, Coach will be suspicious._

* * *

 _What in God's name is he_ DOING? Principal Hopkins thought. He and the rest of the faculty were too shocked to do anything other than to stare at Coach Randall's bizarre behavior.

* * *

"I have a confession to make," said Coach Randall into the microphone. "For years, I have been hypnotizing all of _MY_ players ... your kids ... behind YOUR backs."

THIS _doesn't sound like Coach_ , Tony Jr. thought.

"I want to win championships," Coach Randall continued. "If I have to turn a few knobs and tighten a few screws in your kids' psyches in order to do it, so be it!"

* * *

 _How does it feel?_ said Jeannie telepathically to Coach Randall. _How does it feel to be on the receiving end of what you have been dishing out to your players?_

 _This is all about_ YOU _, is it not? You could frankly care less about them ... about what_ THEY _want ... about what_ THEY _need._

 _This_ _is for my son ... and this is for Mike Jeffries. Surely you remember_ HIM _now, do you not?_ Jeannie said sarcastically. _You have been forcing him to play hurt all season. Y_ _ou refuse to take him to the doctor for fear of losing your precious Golden Arm ... your ticket to a championship._

 _Your days of secrecy ... of operating in the shadows ... are_ OVER.

* * *

Tony Jr.'s jaw dropped. _Oh, My God,_ he thought as realization struck him. _She's_ POSSESSED _him!_

* * *

"What have you done to my son?" a woman screamed from the stands as she watched her son - a member of the football team - lie on the ground.

Cries of "What have you done to my brother?", "What have you done to my cousin?", and "What have you done to my son?" rang out from the stands as family members looked on helplessly at their fallen loved ones. Inert, sleeping bodies lay strewn haphazardly throughout the stands and to one side of the stage (where the football team previously sat).

* * *

"Effective immediately, you … and you ..." commanded Principal Hopkins as he pointed to Coach Randall and Athletic Director Larry Jenkins (who was sitting next to Coach Randall on the stage). "... are now both suspended indefinitely, until further notice!"

"Oh, put a sock in it, Gary!" Athletic Director Jenkins snapped, calling the Principal by his first name. "You were in on this too! You were fine with it so long as we were winning and the booster cash was rolling in!"

"Effective immediately, all _THREE_ of you are now suspended indefinitely, pending a full investigation!" the Superintendent of Schools (who was sitting on the stage with the rest of the speakers) bellowed as he pointed towards Hopkins, Coach Randall, and Athletic Director Jenkins.

* * *

A trickle of angry relatives began filing out of the stands and marching towards the stage. The trickle soon became a stream ... which soon became a flood. A mob of angry relatives - mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, cousins, what-have-you - soon poured out of the grandstand and on towards the stage.

" _PLEASE, RETURN TO YOUR SEATS!_ " Vice Principal Newkirk cried as he and several administrators tried (to no avail) to hold back the onrushing tide of bodies.

* * *

Tony Jr. disappeared from his seat near the stage ...

... and reappeared behind the stadium, standing before Jeannie.

"Anthony!" said Jeannie as she shook Anthony's shoulder, trying to get his attention. Oncoming police sirens wailed off in the distance.

Anthony stood up straight. He was standing face-to-face with Jeannie (who wore a red dress and beige heels).

 _"MOM!"_ Tony Jr. exclaimed as he hugged Jeannie. Tears were running down Tony Jr.'s face.

Jeannie hugged Tony Jr. and said, "Let us go."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

"Breaking News at Five … Shocking viral video tonight out of Cocoa High School," the TV blared. Cell phone footage of Coach Randall's public hypnotism display and subsequent public confession rolled as the announcer said, "Take a look at this … Cocoa High School football coach Thomas Randall has now publicly admitted to hypnotizing his players over the past few years. Parents are outraged and are calling for the firing of Coach Randall, Cocoa High School Athletic Director Larry Jenkins, and Cocoa High School Principal Gary Hopkins.

"The Superintendent of Schools has suspended all three men without pay and has called for a full investigation into the scandal ..."

* * *

Later that night, Jeannie leaned against the doorway that led into into Tony Jr.'s bedroom.

 _If only there was something I could do to help him remember,_ she mused. Coach Randall's suggestions were affecting Tony Jr., but he was unable to remember what they were. The reason he could not remember was because Coach Randall had ordered him not to remember them while he was under hypnosis.

The phrase _stupid, blundering oaf_ pretty much summed up what Jeannie thought of Coach Randall. _He checks out a book on hypnosis from the library, loads his players up with several months worth of suggestions, and he has the audacity to call himself a_ PROFESSIONAL?

There was only so much she could do against someone else's magic.

A thought occurred to her: _What Coach Randall did … was not actually_ MAGIC. _He is a mortal … he possesses no magic._

 _Perhaps there_ IS _something I can do._

Jeannie walked over to Tony Jr.'s bedside, gently placed her hand on Tony Jr.'s head, and blinked. She then directed her thoughts towards Tony Jr.: _May you now remember … all that Coach Randall has bade you to forget._

Having done this, Jeannie leaned over and gently kissed Tony Jr.'s head.

 _If nothing else, it_ IS _a start,_ she thought.

THE END


End file.
